


Song to the Moon

by Somniare



Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Moving, Operas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-30
Updated: 2014-03-30
Packaged: 2018-01-18 09:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1424002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somniare/pseuds/Somniare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From an idea by Somniare. Robbie had forgotten how much he hated packing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Song to the Moon

Robbie had forgotten how much he hated packing. He stood in the living area and turned a slow circle, taking in the contents of the shelves, bookcases and coffee table. Though it had only been a few years since his last move, he was in disbelief at how many things he had gathered over that time. Where on earth had it all come from? He’d not been away on holidays for years so there were no souvenirs on the shelves – besides, that had been Lyn and Val’s thing, looking for ‘memories’ – nor was he one to buy himself luxury or unnecessary items. He was a man of simple needs: some music, something to watch on the telly, and a few books. 

The accumulated mass wasn’t the fallout from birthdays or Christmas either. Lyn was the only one who actually bought him a gift each time – well, a gift card, but it was the thought that counted, and postage was ridiculous so it made sense. James would come around for dinner, bringing the takeaway and a suitable beverage with him; they would mark the occasion with quiet conversation and whichever DVD James had chosen to also bring. 

He puffed out his cheeks and dragged a box over to the first shelves. James was coming over later, after rehearsals, but Robbie wanted to break the back of this lot as soon as possible. He pulled the first books off the shelf, his eyes absently grazing over the titles, and he stopped. That wasn’t his book, he’d never bought it and it certainly hadn’t been given to him as a gift. It was, however, one he’d wanted to read for some time and had been telling James just the other week... 

Robbie tipped the books back into place and had a good look at the titles. Some were definitely his, others were ones he and James had discussed, and a couple were completely foreign. He quickly realised they were in order by author. He made a small sound of exasperation: James. He packed away the books he knew were his before flicking through the rest. Written in pencil, at the top left corner of the inside cover of each remaining book, were the initials JH. Why on earth had the lad...? He slowly turned to look at the CDs and DVDs on the shelf. Same story. 

Soon, Robbie had packed everything he knew belonged to him, and all that was remained were a pile of books, CDs, and DVDs, all with the telltale initials JH written somewhere on them. It wasn't a meagre pile either. If James had really bought Robbie all these things, it must've cost him a small fortune. Robbie castigated himself for not having been a better detective; if he hadn't been moving, he wondered if he would ever have noticed the extra things at all.

But the items themselves weren't the only mystery. The bigger question was…why? Why had James gone to all this trouble? What did all these things mean? That James paid attention to what Robbie was interested in, certainly. That James had a good memory for what they'd talked about together. 

Robbie looked at the pile thoughtfully. James had left his initials on every item, which meant that at some point, he'd expected Robbie to find these things and to know that they came from him. Might there be other clues in the items? Underlined passages in the books, for instance, or a specific song title highlighted in the liner notes of one of the CDs? There was a deeper message here--Robbie was sure of it--and if there was, James would have played fair. He would've left enough clues that Robbie could work it out if he found them. Robbie decided to start with the books.

But there were no clues in the books, and none in the DVDs either--no notes, no additional writing or even underlined bits. It was only when Robbie turned to the CDs that he found something he thought might be a clue.

Months ago, James had mentioned his appreciation of Dvorak. Robbie had said he hadn't known much about him, that Dvorak wasn't necessarily one of Morse's favourites, or at least hadn't been one that Morse had spoken of to him. James had gotten very quiet and very thoughtful and had mentioned that he might know something of Dvorak's Robbie would like. And here it was--a full-length recording of _Rusalka_. Robbie pulled out the libretto from the CD case, flipping through…and there was a passage highlighted in yellow.

At first, Robbie thought James had been taking the piss, because the passage James had highlighted was in what looked like Czech, and Robbie didn't bloody read Czech. After a moment, though, he found that the opposing page was the English translation, so he shifted his attention there and began to read.

The bit James had highlighted was an aria called "Song to the Moon". Robbie flipped to the synopsis of the opera to get some context for this song--apparently this Rusalka was a water spirit who had fallen in love with a prince and longed to become human. It was a bit like 'The Little Mermaid'. Robbie went back to the highlighted song, reading the translation.

_Oh, moon, before you pass,_  
tell me, where is my love?  
Tell him, silver moon,  
that I long to hold him in my arms;  
let him dream of my love for him.  
Light his path and tell him of my love… 

Robbie lowered the libretto, thoughts racing. He had a good idea who Rusalka was in this scenario, and it wasn't him. It was just like James to tell him something like this using somebody else's words.

There was only one thing for it. Robbie needed to listen to the song.

He hadn't packed his CD player yet, luckily, and he put in the CD, checking the track listings and then cueing the song. James was right…the music was lovely, and Robbie did like it. When the lyrics began, at first Robbie tried to follow along with the libretto, but soon he gave up and just listened to the song itself. It was easy enough to hear the feeling behind it, anyway, even if you didn't understand the words.

And what feeling. What longing. And this was what James had left him. Robbie felt as though he had tiptoed into one of the secret parts of James's heart and was overwhelmed by what he saw there. All this…for him?

At the end of the song, Robbie went back to the beginning of the track and hit 'repeat play' so it would cycle through this song over and over again. When James arrived, he would know what it meant.

Robbie had packed the books James had left him (marking the box "Books from James") when he heard a quiet voice in the doorway.

"It's a wistful song. But hopeful too."

Robbie turned to see James standing very still, expression hard to read.

"Does she get her prince in the end?" Robbie asked.

James shook his head, voice very soft. "No."

Robbie considered that for a moment. "I think we can do better than that. Don't you?"

The ghost of a smile flitted across James's face, and he nodded, stepping further into the flat. "I do like this aria. But the rest of the opera's lovely too."

"I'm sure it is," Robbie said. "But I think…I think I just want this bit for a while." He touched James's arm, hand lingering. "The bit somebody important loves."

James smiled more brightly this time, and he rested a hand on Robbie's shoulder a moment. Then he patted him. "Come on. Let's see to your things."

Robbie thought there would be time enough for that, and more.


End file.
